Girls I Rate have today (October 1) launched a new music industry mentorship programme christened #MENTORME.
An official press release stated: “Our aim is to create a community of women in the industry who celebrate, empower and support each other and are committed to change through mentoring.”
Key mentorship areas include production and engineering, songwriting, branding and styling, DJing, the music business (A&R, publishing, legal, registrations, management etc) and music promotion (social media, PR, promotion).
The programme is exclusively open to a dedicated group of female creatives aged 16-30 from the GIR Army. It will launch with a Black History Month edition. A 90-minute session will be held live online via Zoom between 16:00 – 17:30 on Sunday, November 1.
Sponsored by PPL and Musicians' Union, GIR have elected a mentor board of professional women from the music and creative industries to educate and support future female leaders through #MENTORME.
Joining the board for the Black History Month special are Grammy-winning songwriter and GIR founder Carla Marie Williams, Mercury Prize shortlisted artist Nao, lead of label partnerships at Spotify Safiya Lambie-Knight, senior A&R manager at Island Records Adele White, and Brit Award & Mobo Award winner Shola Ama.
In July, Williams, Nao, Lambie-Knight, White and Ama appeared on the cover of Music Week to celebrate black female excellence in the music industry. You can read Williams' impassioned open letter to the music industry here.
Speaking about the scheme, Williams said: “Knowledge is power we must educate the future female! And are proud to be taking action to do so.”
Nao added: “I’m honoured to be mentoring with #MENTORME and GIR. This is a positive opportunity to inspire girls of colour, that they too have a seat at the creative table and have the talent to be working in a male dominated industry. We all need to little help to get our feet through the door and #MENTORME and GIR is a great place to get started.”
The interviews will be hosted by GIR Army leader Inkra Debelle. #MENTORME will then be held live online, from 11:00-15:00, one Sunday a month. The day will consist of three, one-hour mentorship sessions covering different topics, delivered by a members of the mentors board.
Safiya Lambie-Knight said: "The work that Girls I Rate has done to support the next generation of women in creative industries is wonderful; having an organisation that continuously pushes for equality and female representation is so vital for the future. Positive role models and mentorship for women are so important in ensuring that the next generation has the support and encouragement that they need."
Adele White added: “I wanted to be part of #MENTORME because I wanted give back help as many young women as possible. Hopefully inspiring the future generation of creatives, where possible.”
The event is exclusively for GIR Army members. To sign up, purchase a ticket or to become a sponsor or mentor, visit www.girlsirate.com.
Shola Ama concluded: “I decided to be part of Girls I Rate #MENTORME because, for me, having so many years in the industry doesn’t hold as much personal value if I’m not able to share my experiences, good and bad, with the next generations of artists."
Photo: Stony Johnson
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